I am for sure not the first to share this interesting interview with you, but i want to highlight a few points.
So in the following interview shown on CNBC, President Obama is asked at the "South by Southwest event" what he thinks about "the dangers of unbreakable encryption". Which of course means Bitcoin.
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Original Interview:
.It it just hilarious to follow the string of arguments in the interview. Obama answers with a great summary of the thoughts of governments in general concerning Bitcoin.
So first he states "if it is possible..."
This tells me he is not sure if the code is really unbreakable. Maybe they found a way already to look into your wallet. But I think more likely he wants to spread FUD (Fear uncertainty and doubt). If the president is not sure about something, it can't be safe.... is the viewer supposed to think.
Just the way he is getting carried away with Buzzwords that are usually used to describe "the villain", tells just how much they are scared of Bitcoin and they haven't found a way to break it:
- Terrorist
- Pedophile / child porn
- Tax fraud
- Swiss Bank account in your pocket
He only forgot to label it as Nuclear-Communist-Nazi.
But let me try to break this down even more.
So even if the question was "unbreakable encryption",
...he is not concerned with whistle blowers sending secret information out.
...he is not concerned with an actual terrorist plot being planned in encrypted communication.
...he is not concerned with child porn being encrypted so it cannot be detected.
...he is not concerned with encrypted communication with your bank in Switzerland.
It is all about the money!
Of course the Swiss Bank is just used here as an analogy for undeclared income or money, which is moved there because you want to avoid the tax on it. That in itself is just funny. So you rather trust a foreign bank with your Money, than giving it to your local bank or to your government. That tells me something.
The swiss bank analogy is basically just an emphasis on his point before: TAX!
What if the government doesnt know how much money your have and how much tax you have to pay? That is just outrageous.
Well actually that is the norm. - For people that can afford it. If you have just enough to live, you have no way of keeping any little bit out of the Banks and Governments sight. Some centuries ago it was just like that for everyone, and an actual tax collector -person had to travel through the country and take a look at what you have harvested to be able to collect the tax. So what a huge set back for the government that would be now.
So he doesnt care if there is a terrorist planning anything. He doesn't care if there are pedophiles walking. As long as they pay their taxes. So you also better pay your taxes or the full force of buzzwords will rain on you, just before they treat you according to your new label.
But in fact it is even worse for the government. With Bitcoin you don't have a swiss bank account in your pocket. In fact you have an whole swiss bank in your pocket. I have this statement from Andreas Antonopoulos and it is so true.
So just image me walking into a fancy swiss bank with my old t-shirt on. Ok, Maybe i will put on a clean one. For sure they will tell me: " Sorry sir, you are not affluent enough to enter this building." They dont even want my little money. So with Bitcoin it is not just everyone can deposit in it, I get to decide what happens and have control. It is like Fort Knox in my pocket.
So sooner or later they will crack down on Bitcoin. But actually i think they won't do it too hard, because for sure the government officials all already have their own little Bitcoin wallet. So before they find a way of attacking it without affecting themselves they will only slowly take action. Anyway the Blockchain moves so fast, institutions are much too slow to keep up. And the officials that don't have a Bitcoin wallet, they just have no idea. They wont see it coming anyway.
So have a great day and watch Bitcoin walk through the FUD with Teflon Boots!